Steering Committee

The UNECE Steering Committee on Education for Sustainable Development

In Vilnius 2005, Ministries of Environment and Education established the Steering Committee to decide on the Strategy’s implementation and review its progress. Moreover the UNECE Secretariat was mandated to provide support to the Steering Committee.

The members of the Steering Committee are designated by Governments of the UNECE member States and include representatives of sectors, environment and education. In addition, representatives of international organizations and non-governmental organizations are invited as observers.

The Steering Committee constitutes the principal decision-making body for the activities on the Strategy for ESD in the UNECE region and is responsible for giving guidance and strategic directions to the implementation of the Strategy. It also reviews the progress of its implementation.

The UNECE Steering Committee for ESD:

Promotes and coordinates the implementation of the Strategy with other international activities, seeking synergies and avoiding overlaps;

Monitors the progress of the implementation of the Strategy; prepare assessments of progress made and propose priorities for actions, identify issues and propose corrective measures, where appropriate;

Liaises and cooperate closely with relevant intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations that are active in education, the environment and sustainable development;

Facilitates cross-sectoral coordination and international cooperation of public and private institutions;

Establishes ad hoc working groups, task forces and other bodies as needed to implement the activities;

Provides guidance on the need for possible new instruments promoting education for sustainable development;

Serves as a forum for the consideration of issues related to education for sustainable development at regional and international level;

Prepares ESD-related inputs for the Commission for Sustainable Development and other relevant processes;

Liaises, as required, with the other United Nations regional commissions for matters related to its competence;

Keeps the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy informed about its activities, unless it is decided otherwise.